All of the wild beauty of the world—the soaring mountains of Patagonia, Chile; the rugged and spellbinding Amalfi Coast in Italy; the innocence of a child; all the poetry and paintings ever created; the giant spinning superstorm of Jupiter; the mathematic wonders steering our solar system—are meant to reflect the supreme beauty, the par excellence: Jesus Christ.
“In him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, . . . all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:16–17 NIV; see also 1 Cor 8:6).
In Christ we see, more than anyone or anywhere else, the beautiful. He embodied integritas, consonantia, and claritas. He was whole: he was at ease with himself; there was no conflict between his inner and outer world. He was perfectly balanced, unified, level—strikingly symmetrical. He demonstrated harmony: no desire was disordered; there was complete composure, a divine arrangement, a wondrous alignment of loves.
He was radiant: there was glory in his face, in his movement, and in his speech. He dwelt among us and we have seen it—his glory (John 1:14).
Room to Reflect
Which of the three qualities – integritas (wholeness), consonantia (harmony), or claritas (radiance) – do you sense Christ cultivating in you right now?
When you read Colossians 1:16–17, what changes about how you see ordinary moments – work, rest, relationships – “held together” in him?
Where have you recently encountered beauty – in creation, art, or daily life – and how might letting it point beyond itself to Jesus, rather than terminating on itself, reshape your habits of attention so that what you notice, admire, and dwell on becomes an act of worship?
What a beautiful ode to Christ Jonathan, not meaning to make a pun. It is, seriously, quite beautiful. Through your piece, I think Christ is cultivating in me at least a moment of integrity and harmony...one step at a time. 1 Col. 16-17 enables me, through the Holy Spirit, to see work, rest, and relationships as related parts of a continuum of worship. "In the Lord, your work is not in vain." Every small endeavor, in Dr. Keller's words, in response to God's calling, matters for eternity. Thank you for this Jonathan. Sitting at my desk, working on a pleading and with my eyes starting to glaze over, I am now awake to something--Someone greater.